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Button-downs,
cuffs and woman-talk
 How
do I make sure my button-down shirts fit right?
By button-down shirts, we assume that you mean dress
shirts and so we will start from that principle. You
must first remember that these shirts may have a tendency
to shrink after a few washings. The notion of pre-shrunk
shirts rarely exists in the classier shirt places. So
the first thing you should ensure is that the sleeve
is slightly longer than usual in order to counteract
shrinkage.
This means that when you put on the shirt, your sleeves
should come down way past your wrist and reach the end
of your thumb, if your hand is pointing downwards. When
you fasten your cuff, it should be tight enough not
to slip down your wrist. If your shirt is untucked-and
this we do not advise you to do, but just in case you
are going to do it-your shirt should hang just above
the back pocket.
And if you are wearing the shirt with a jacket, and
extending your arms, the sleeves should land between
a half-inch and one inch past the jacket. Anything longer
is cause for tailoring or buying a smaller shirt.
Another good series of tests:
1. The shirt's seams meet at the shoulder.
2. You can slip your finger in between your collar and
your neck without asphyxiating yourself.
3. The tip of your collar and the outer edge should
be covered by your jacket lapels.
I'm
a small town guy at heart and I've just landed a big
job in the Big Apple. I'm going to be working with bunches
of American women. What should I not do? How do I behave?
Here are the five golden rules for working with women.
1. Thou shalt not look at a woman however much
it may seem that a woman has dressed up so that you
should look at her. This is your big test, small town
boy, but don't you dare even start thinking in that
direction. Thou shalt hold no conversations with body
parts other than her eyes. And no telling of smutty
jokes or passing them on over email.
2. Thou shalt not mention bodily functions, not
yours and specially not hers. Thou shalt not ask if
it is her time of the month and thou shalt not even
say it in jest to other people, even to a male colleague,
it may be reported back to the women you are working
with.
3. Thou shalt take time to talk and to listen.
You will pile up the brownie points if you are seen
as a good communicator and the first step to being a
good communicator is to understand that half of communication
is receiving, not just transmitting.
4. Thou shalt offer no compliments whatsoever
on her looks, her clothes, her hair, her handbag. Thou
shalt reserve thy compliments for her work. "I
thought you handled that presentation marvellously,"
is fine. "You have a lovely new haircut,"
is not even if it is true.
5. Thou shalt see every woman as coworker or
boss or underling and not as female coworker or female
boss or female gofer. Thou shalt try to understand
that they are not seeing thee as male boss or male colleague
or male dishwasher. And though men and women are different,
so different that it's fun, thou shalt have to pretend
that there isn't any difference at all.
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